The Martial Unity

Her stance was transparent. Frankly, he didn't even need to use systemized thought to deduce her fighting style and intentions.

'Legs positioned to minimize lag in the transition to sprinting,' He noted. 'It can be inferred that she's going to be rushing at me the moment this fight begins. On top of that, a coiled upper body for maximal torque for a punch, based on the balled fist. So, a sprint and full-powered blow from the get-go, hm?'

Those weren't the only inferences to be made.

'She's not worried about the gaps in the defenses of her stance. She doesn't appear to have highly conditioned durability, either. Thus, it appears that she's going all out on her offense, disregarding defense, which means…' Rui made his choice in accordance with the stance evaluation system.

His arms rose up defensively as he spread his legs, dividing his weight equally. This was a stance that favored balance and stability without putting too much weight on maneuvering.

"Come," Rui commenced the battle.

She didn't hesitate.

WHOOSH!

She propelled herself forward at tremendous speeds, leaving behind a sonic boom in her wake as she raced forward toward Rui.

BOOM!

Her powerful blow crashed into his propped arm with overwhelming momentum. Yet her eyes widened as she felt the impact disappearing even before it could bloom. It was like water being drained away into a drain hole in a tub.

POW POW POW!

Rui blasted her with a barrage of blows after dispelling the impact of her attack cleanly with Flux Earther. She barely managed to block the sharply-timed swift attacks with her guard.

Yet…

VMMM!

"Urgh!" She grimaced

Reverberating Lance permeated the impacts deep.

Without the Martial Heart and without his stamina drained, the gap between their bodies was smaller. Without that gap, many Martial Seniors would never have been able to contend with Rui at all.

His application of power was too sublime to be overcome without anything other than a significant power gap. This was even when he wasn't using the VOID algorithm but even a greatly inferior voidlet technique.

Yet she wasn't done.

"HRYAH!" A barrage of flowing attacks blasted into him.

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!

Each of them was drained to the earth as Rui cleanly timed Flux Earth each time, draining the power of each of her blows and and transmitting them back to earth each time. He became a living conduit of flowing power.

Her expression intensified as she launched a fearsome kick at his head.

WHOOSH!

Rui cleanly crouched, launching a sweeping kick as her angle.

BAM!

She ignored the impact, redirecting her high kick into a powerful axe kick.

BOOM!!

Rui leaped away, barely evading the thundering impact.

Yet she had no intention of letting him get away.

"HAH!"

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!!

She wasn't able to use breathing techniques, but those weren't the only ways to supplement and augment striking power. Her powerful legs pushed forward, parallel with the ground, driving her fists with twice as much power as when she raced after him.

The barrage of blows continued for quite a while.

They only grew stronger.

BOOM! BOOM BOOM!

Rui's eyes sharpened with intensity.

Her blows shook the ground even as he dispersed them into the lands beneath their feet. Not even Flux Earther could fully disperse them.

WHOOSH!

Her eyes widened as her blow struck an empty image.

A feint.

A chill crawled down her spine as she immediately retreated.

Yet, it was too late.

BAM!

A swift, short blow cleanly crashed into her jaw, violently rocking her head and rendering her disoriented and dizzy.

Rui was not generous enough to ignore such a clean opportunity.

BAM!

His kick struck her jaw, causing the blunt force trauma to exceed the limiting threshold.

THUD!

She fell to the ground, unconscious.

He heaved a soft sigh, turning to the spectating Masters. "I'm sure I don't need to explain to your insightful and sharp Masteries what happened this battle. Application of power. Timing. Placement. This is what the voidlet techniques help optimize. With an accurate system of thought, it increases the user's ability to make the right decisions. Its utility against offensive Martial Artists was demonstrated well in this battle."

He turned to the Martial Senior of the Earth Sect. "Let us begin the demonstration against defense."

The Martial Senior of the Earth Sect walked into the sparring arena as he eyed the Fire Sect Martial Senior, who was being carried away. He turned towards Rui with a wary expression.

The domineering demonstration of the previous round, in addition to Rui's immense prestige in the Kandrian Empire, put a lot of pressure on his back.

He also felt inferior when he considered that Rui had already reached his grade of power at the mere age of thirty. The fact that he had broken through to the Senior Realm seven years ago was truly shocking. He was facing a real prodigy who shined so bright that nearly every Martial Sect in the Kandrian Empire, including his, lusted after the young man.

"Are you familiar with the rules?" Rui asked.

The man nodded, reciting the limitations of the match.

"Well then," Rui took a neutral stance.

The defensive Martial Senior followed suit, taking a fortress of a stance. His large barrel arms came to the forefront, guarding his abdomen as he centered his legs close to his body. He gave the impression of a dense, thick fort wall.

Rui's stance shifted as he analyzed the man's.

'Given his stature as a defensive Martial Artist, his defense is mostly passive,' Rui realized. 'Though centered legs is a stance that favors maneuvering rather than han balance and stability.'

If his opponent's defense was mostly massive, then Rui couldn't focus too much on maneuvering, though his offense could not be forsaken either.

This time, Rui focused on speed and power more than anything else. Yet that wasn't all; no defense was perfect; Rui was already able to see ways in which he could break through the man's armor.